AOK BIO
Albert Carter Mayden III a.k.a. AOK, a native of the South Side of Chicago, embraced his calling for music in 1985 when he received his very first instrument the French horn. He continued to play the French horn until his freshman year of high school. It was at this point, that AOK became very intrigued with the radio and broadcast/media aspects of the entertainment industry. He had excelled within theses two newfound interests so rapidly that by his junior year there was no more classes left for him to take, so in his leisure time he submerged himself in everything from filmography, videography, editing, and he later started doing his high school morning announcements. In the summer of "95" AOK and hip-hop became one. Like so many others who were initially inspired by Slick Rick and KRS-One, he began as just another aspiring rapper with a boundless passion for hip-hop, albeit a rapper with a Midas touch when it came to production. AOK eventually joined a rap group called Apocalypse, it consisted of nine members, and AOK was one of three that were producing for the group.
In the fall of 1995 he started school at Columbia College majoring in sound engineering, which would later transcended into music business management. By 1997 he had obtained an internship position with a local production company, Foxes and Hounds studios, as a producer/engineer After paying dues for several years and the completion of his undergrad studies, AOK opened his first music production house in which he called "The Cave". One year later he expand his production venture by opening up his second production house "Last Dragon Entertainment", which he named after the 1985 cult-classic The Last Dragon.
Subsequently, the moral of the movie would hit close to home for AOK, because he had begun to realize that he too embodied the inner strength to achieve anything, as did the main antagonist in the movie, Bruce Leroy.
To date, Last Dragon Entertainment has paved the way for AOK to provide opportunities to local talents in numerous ways, such as talent showcase; professional photo shoots and in person visits to major label in New York City. In addition to working with the local artists, AOK broadened his name when he signed a contract in 2005 for a production deal with Nike's own Brand Jordan, to be the sole music/sound producer for all online shoe campaigns. As a result of AOK's initial success, Brand Jordan has yet again extend his contract as the person behind the sound of the brand.
AOK has provided his music to a plethora of labels, some of which include Def Jam, Shady Records and Interscope. He recently landed an endorsement deal with Open Labs, and is in the process of building a network of producers to expand the AOK brand to various markets.
No stranger to the digital market AOK is a member of pmpworldwide.com and broadjam.com. You can find his latest project Jumpan Music on iTunes and Rasphody, his mixtape Oil For The Hood Vol. 1 which showcases talent singed to Last Dragon Entertainment can be found on his website Lastdragonent.com, click on the link AOK. He recently wrapped up his artist's solo projects that are slated to drop later this year.